Ricky Thornton Jr. grabbed an Eldora feature win
Ricky Thornton Jr. stayed hot in the Group B Dirt Late Model Dream preliminary feature at Eldora Speedway by leading all the way to score his third consecutive win. This was the first of two nights of preliminary events leading into one of Dirt Late Model racing’s crown jewels.
The Longhorn Chassis driver from Martinsville, Indiana earned $12,000 for his win on the track located in Rossburg, Ohio in a race aired live by FloRacing.com.
A total of 95 cars were signed in for competition
Qualifying Results: 1. Nick Hoffman(15.856), 2, Kye Blight, 3. Jimmy Owens, 4. Mike Marlar, 5. Jonathan Davenport, 6. Trent Ivey, 7. Bobby Pierce, 8. Stormy Scott, 9. Donald McIntosh, 10. Kent Robinson
Heat 1 Results: 1. Jonathan Davenport, 2. Josh Rice, 3. Jordan Koehler, 4. Donald McIntosh, 5. Zach Dohm
Heat 2 Results: 1. Devin Moran, 2. Trent Ivey, 3. Kent Robinson, 4. Kye Blight, 5. Adam Stricker
Heat 3 Results: 1. Ricky Thornton Jr., 2. Brian Shirley, 3. Bobby Pierce, 4. Brandon Sheppard, 5. Jimmy Owens
Heat 4 Results: 1. Stormy Scott, 2. Ryan Gustin, 3. Mike Marlar, 4. Shannon Babb, 5. Jason Feger
B-main 1 Finish: 1. Nick Hoffman, 2. Tyler Clem
B-main 2 Finish: 1. Brandon Overton, 2. Jeep Van Wormer
Feature Re-cap: At the start of the 25-lap main event it was Thornton who went to the lead with Moran, Stormy Scott, Rice and davenport in his tire tracks. Davenport made an early move toward the front by getting around Rice for fourth on lap 3. Gustin would move into the top-5 by also passing Rice on lap 5.
Rice fought back and regained his top-5 position on lap 6. At the same time, Thornton had pulled out to a lead of just over two seconds ahead of the field. However, a spin by Pierce would bring out a caution on lap 8 negating Thornton’s advantage.
After the restart, Moran kept pace with Thornton while a furious battle for position raged for the remaining top-5 positions. Marlar looked to be a force in the second half of the feature as he broke into the top-5 on lap 13 and then passed Rice for fourth one lap later.
Eventually, Marlar would get by Davenport for third where his progress would then stall out.
In the end, Thornton drove away from his pursuers to claim the victory in the night’s second feature race.
Feature Results: 1. Ricky Thornton Jr., 2. Devin Moran, 3. Mike Marlar, 4. Josh Rice, 5. Jonathan Davenport, 6. Brandon Sheppard, 7. Brian Shirley, 8. Stormy Scott, 9. Brandon Overton, 10. Kent Robinson, 11. Jimmy Owens, 12. Ryan Gustin, 13. Nick Hoffman, 14. Trent Ivey, 15. Shannon Babb, 16. Jason Feger, 17. Donald McIntosh, 18. Kye Blight, 19. Tyler Clem, 20. Jeep Van Wormer, 21. Bobby Pierce, 22. Zach Dohm, 23. Adam Stricker, 24. Jordan Koehler
Please consider also reading:
Late restart move propels Tim McCreadie to Group A win on Thursday at Eldora
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